#ageist towards youth but

[entropy-sea-system]

spoilers for pacific rim: uprising, character death mentions

I feel like the two major deaths were rather unnecessary.. Mako Mori dies so early on that we hardly know anything abt her??? And Cadet Suresh (like.. the cadets are older teenagers at most too..) too??

[sophiasartandgaming]

I honestly kind of hate how normalized it has become to bully teens just because they are young. Saying that teens should have a right to exist in the community and online without being harassed should not be a controversial opinion.

[g-kat423]

Just gonna say it but ageism in fandom towards the older participants is gross and by “older” they act like anyone past 25 is ancient and that they shouldn’t be interested in any media and I quite literally saw someone saying “shouldn’t they be paying taxes?”

Is that all you think adults do?? Who do you think is creating the media you are interested in? Also who is writing the actually decent fanfiction? I’ll give you a hint, it’s not the 16 year olds with barely any life experience. It’s usually pretty easy to tell when it’s a child writing. Not saying there aren’t teenagers with decent fics but they are exceptions, not the rule.

[hourglassfish]

A (long) Aside on 1:7 and 2:10

There are two responses to 1:7 and 2:10 that always quietly horrify me.

The first, and you know, I'm writing a multi part series on it, so it's no mystery - is that Sydney was arrogant/a brat/ couldn't hack it/ wrong to walk out, and that the situation as a whole was her fault. Nah. She was right to walk out, the biggest failure of that episode is not fucking pulling the breaks when Richie gets stabbed. The workplace has gone from dysfunctional to dangerous, she has been responsible for that danger, the perpetrator of it, and she is right to leave.

little bit of an asshole but i love you so i don't care

Carmy sees Syd saying she's going to stab Richie (as she holds her knife to his chest!) while they're up in each other's faces (with Richie goading her) and he does... nothing. He tells them to shut the fuck up and make giardiniera. At this point they needed to be separated! One or both of them needed to cool off. We've seen Syd bodily put herself between a fighting Carmy and Richie. A little reciprocity would have gone a long way here.

It's wild to me that people think that Carmy was justified in his anger and aggression towards Marcus and Syd and ignore that he is aggressive to Richie also! Richie, typically one of the more confrontational characters in the show asks him to calm down, to cool it. That so many viewers so quickly and uncritically accept Carmy's narrative point of view, even while the show actively challenges it confirms something that has been in the culture a long time: that we are much more used to excusing and aligning ourselves with abusive behaviour, than we are at challenging and refusing it. That people - many of whom have received this kind of behaviour themselves - want to defend it, makes me so, so sad.

It always hurts me a little that in 1:8 Tina tells Carmy that if he 'tries that shit with her, she'll fuck him up'. It's a fun line! But I'm sorry, no she won't. He screams at her too, while chucking bowls around and Sydney's words in 1:7 clearly hurt her. Tina categorically did nothing wrong. She doesn't deserve that shit. But at the end of the day, she is a middle aged Latinx woman and a mother, and so her tolerance level has to be higher. She needs that job! Shedoes not, as far as we know, have a father she can live with rent free, she does not have youth and the promise of exploitable potential to offer to employers in an ageist job market, she does not have CIA qualifications or a CV full of ‘serious heat’.

Carmy. holds. a. position. of. power. over. these. people. He is their boss, not their manager, and he owns the place, mob loan or no. He has the power to sack them all, to cut their hours, to cut their wages; thus the impact of that power extends not just to them, but also to their children and families. Louis being present in Review is not just to add an obstacle, it's also a reminder of those stakes.

Carmy has influence in the fine dining industry, regardless of whether that social and cultural capital is respected at The Beef or not. The very same oppourtunities that he provides them with in season 2 are things he could also lock them out of if he so chose. Any analysis of 1:7 that ignores this power is flawed from its root. When you are a boss, this power is ever present. One of the few things you can do to alter your boss's behaviour is to withdraw your labour. It's not the only option you have, but everything else is at their discretion, or mediated by lengthy, expensive legal processes.

yeh, i hate this

Carmy knows this, even if you don't! It's why the apology he gives Marcus - which Marcus does not ask for - is so heartfelt. Carmy has been on the receiving end of what that power, wielded cruelly, can do. He does not want to do this to others. We see him talk to staff with respect even while he endures horrid abuse in a flashback. We see him teach and explain himself, we see him listen and invite feedback - ‘say more’. His commitment to being a good boss is sincere, that kindness is in his bones.

The second thing people say that makes me want to die a little inside is that Carmy bought getting locked in the fridge on himself, that he deserved it in some way, and that getting locked in the fridge was him abandoning Sydney.

Oh my god!

He does not have a diagnosis yet - so anything we see is an interpretation. But it feels explicit that Carmy has panic disorder, and perhaps generalised anxiety disorder and CPTSD from both his workplace experiences and his childhood. A couple of things that he says and does suggest ADHD, or some other neurodiversity. He is not very careful with himself, and does not recognise these things as treatable problems (Richie says he experiences anxiety and dread, Carmy's response is 'who doesn't' - wince, cruel to Richie, cruel to himself - vomiting everyday and crying out of nowhere are presented as something 'loads of people do' to Sugar. Tumblr loves to send people to therapy, but I just want to send this man to do a basic google search of more than fun tbh). But they are debilitating for him, especially at work.

What happens to how we read Carmy's behaviour when he is presented as someone with an untreated disability, and absolutely no support plan in place? Does he still get his just desserts at the end of the season?

The fridge thing is a bit clumsy, I think. It's silly that over the space of three months, no one at any point just takes that job off him as a priority, or at least makes it something where Tony will call the restaurant, not Carmy specifically. It is unrealistic that there would not be some kind of back up safety lock inside the fridge. But you know, they're characters in a TV show, it also does not take two people swivelling around on the floor to tighten the coat hooks on a table (LOOOOOOL) - it's realistic until its not.

But, you know, it's doing a thing, several things - it's Chekov's gun, isn't it, it's the tangible impact of the lapse of focus that Uncle Jimmy is constantly trying to warn them about.

He wanted to cry here so bad!!! It makes me laugh every time

But umm... guys? What happens to him on that night is so, so horrible. They're a chef down, they're running out of forks, Richie's giving him shit (and Carmy is so susceptible to Richie giving him shit), Marcus and Syd are being all weird. He thinks one of his abusers (Donna) might come, or that she might not come and there will be emotional fallout from that. He thinks he sees his other abuser (Evil Joel Mc Hale) - and he's triggered. He goes in the kitchen and yells, but Syd pulls him back in. Then he goes into the fridge, partly to do chef stuff, I'm sure, but also partly to fucking get his shit together aaaaaand he gets locked in there! He has a panic attack! In a fridge! That he is locked in! And the people he loves most in the world, are the other side of that door, and for five minutes, an eternity in panic attack time, they ignore him! He has no clue what's going on! Last time shit hit the fan, two of his staff walked out (he's still not over Syd walking out cus they never talk about it properly), another one got stabbed and all these new ones are 'emerald green'. And he still thinks evil Joel Mc Hale is out there!

My loves, that shit is the stuff of nightmares! I know he tells himself that he bought this on himself but can we please! stop! uncritically! accepting! his narrative! point! of view!

I don't think anybody on screen recognises that a panic attack is what he's having. That's not their fault. None of them have seen him have a panic attack! They don’t get to see inside his head like we do (which saves them from a lot of R.E.M.) He is locked in the fridge, they just hear the bear banging on the door of his cage! It's not even in the language of the show at this point (though i am curious about how and when Richie came to get his Xanax). But that's what's happening. The team are fine. They do great. He has a terrible, terrible time.

My support worker found 2:10 deeply triggering - and her reason for this, she said, was that a lot of her job was supporting people with panic disorders who are leading teams, and seeing that moment coming, the moment where the panic crashes headlong into their role as leader. Part of her role is anticipating it, and trying to turn it around before they reach the point of no return. And as soon as Carmy thinks he sees Old Boss, he's gone. His body is in flight or fight, and he is alone with that. He can’t show up for Syd at that point, he is in his equivalent of the trenches.

This is also what is happening in 1:7. Somehow his response is often framed as a) rational or b) just an asshole - but it is so outsize to the situation, and to who we know him to be most of the time (quiet, kind, thoughtful, sensitive, BITCHY), that we know it has to be more than that.

None of this is helped by the fact that Carmy's panic attacks are... well they're kind of ugly! His meltdowns are aggressive and shouty, on the edge of physical violence, in an industry where people behave like that because they can. It is hard, parsing through that to the triggers, and fears, and panic beneath. It's scary! It asks so much of people to see that and want to help, not run away. But that is where he's at.

I do not have language for how much I hate how physical he gets with Marcus here, it is deeply upsetting

I have an access rider, to help me work well with people, and to help them work well with me. My mental health turns up in every job I do. All the time. Has done for years. It can make me unreliable, uncommunicative and absent. It can mean that people have to step up sometimes in ways they weren't anticipating. And one of the things the rider asks for is 'Good Faith' - a belief that I have not shut down because I'm an asshole, but rather because I have some unhelpful coping mechanisms that I am trying to work my way out of, that my triggers are real, not excuses for laziness or an expression of lack of care, that i will give as much as I can when I can.

Syd and Carmy are beginning to work towards this - Carmy says over and over again that he doesn't want to be shitty. Claire fucking muddies things, because I will not meet you skiving off to see your girlfriend with good faith fam. That shit he needs to be held accountable for. Dropping that envelope was a perfect Richie job, I'm still pissed about that. But being locked in the fridge... there's way more going on there.

The idea that Carmy should, and will, leave the culinary world keeps coming up in various metas. But... the problem isn't cooking? I think Carmy loves cooking, still. I think he likes being part of a team, and wants to be good at it. I think he likes teaching, and he is good at that. I think he likes picking the right silent plates and having his CDC in Thom Browne. I also think he likes being there a lot and being absorbed by his job.

The problem is that the workplace he is in is not one that is set up to his needs right now - it's not set up so that he can rest enough, so that he can eat well, so that he can exercise, or whatever he needs to do to help him manage his brain and nervous system. It's not set up so that if he is triggered, he and his team knows how to keep going with the service *and* not abandon him to the worst of his brain.

Ohhhh it's bad

Carmy ignoring Claire's call and not calling Tony feels bizarre stripped of the context of his panic attack that morning. But we know that anxiety and panic and executive dysfunction take simple things and make them insurmountable. It's not about Sydney in that moment, or even really about Claire*, and self sabotage feels so weighted with judgement when I think about what those frozen moments feel like from the inside. And I've had my diagnoses for 12 years! I've been doing that work, the long slog of trying to make sure my employees know enough context that my MH doesn't fuck up their day, whilst also maintaining my own dignity and right to privacy.

The disentangling of symptoms from personality traits is so hard - fuck ups from trauma responses, what was preventable, and what might have happened even if you did everything right. I never want to lose sight of compassion for Carmy, and the reality of how long it takes to break those cycles.

I also never want to stop seeing the power that he has over the people that he works with, and how, unfortunately, one of the responsibilities of leadership is that you have to be trying to get your shit together, you have to know yourself, and know how your baggage, combined with your power could be creating harm. It’s hard, but there’s not way around it. It is essential that he gets the support he needs, and puts the measures in place that means that he can also be vulnerable, not just for him, but for the team as whole. The power and the lack of framework together are so very harmful for everyone.

makes for delicious tv though 😉

I think a lot about the ticket machines in The Bear. I'm not thinking about them as a former line chef, cus I'm not that, I'm an artist and writer, that waitressed for a while (while a lot of chefs did a lot of coke out back!) and The Bear is fiction, not a documentary. Those little tickets are used for so many things. They're the sound of pressure. They're where a bunch of intrusive thoughts get flashed up on the screen. They are the presence of tech and of speed and alienation. They are the gap where two human beings, one asking for food, and one cooking that food, become consumer and producer. They are a presence of the machine in the workplace, and they stand in for Marcus's machines in McDonald's and for Evil Joel McHale and for financial failure.

One of the things that capitalism demands is that we always listen to that machine. That when we are making a choice, between the people stood around us, who we work with daily, who we live massive chunks of our life with, and the demand for production for go go go - that we choose the latter, even if it harms the former. That we open for service, even though one of our oldest friends just got stabbed. That we prioritise getting the service turned around on Friends and Family night (the easiest night of the year to go out, pour more wine, and say service is a little delayed, but we've got this), rather than maybe asking Fak or even Claire, to come and talk to Carmy through the door, as well, make sure that he's OK. That we just keep going.

And there are so many really important reasons to do that! Keeping going is how we learn and grow, it's how we make sure that we can pay the bills, how we provide beautiful experiences for customers and guests who are more than consumers to us.

But at some point, we have to ask at what cost. When do we stop and make different? When do we try something else, make new systems, that work for us?

A moment - a small, tiny moment - of triumph for me, is when Richie and Syd turn the table around. So rather than one person, facing the tickets alone, with their back to the kitchen as they yell out orders, the person on Expo faces in. yes they can see the tickets, but they can also see the people they are working with. They can see stress, and worry and joy. They can see how hard they are working. They can see that they are not alone, not just in a promise before service, but during service, when you need that connection most.

My hope is that Season 3 will have more of them making these decisions - ones that lean into seeing each other, where their relationships keep growing, and they build a system where the love and care they have for each other is truthfully at the heart of it.

Richie is not my bag, that's just for me, personally, but I get how much he means to others, and he's beautiful here.

*Man, I do think the romance subplot was a bit of a misstep. Pop always feels like such a waste of the audience's time, time not spent with Ebra and Tina, time spent on a presentation of romance that has been done to death and is never especially satisfying. Truncates a lot of empathy for Carmy. Boo. Hiss.

[dyspunktional-leviathan]

Youth Liberation Theory Starter List

Repost, not gathered by me.

What I’d also add:

Original starter list link: https://cryptpad.fr/pad/#/2/pad/view/besAg6ftZLb59VyzAARKYPyFLdweM7aU1QSAREwHSBs/

The link’s content copied below the cut:

[This list is motivated to point towards introductory and in-depth texts concerning most topics revolving youth liberation.]

-------------------------------------------------------- What are youth rights?

-------------------------------------------------------- Why *all* brain development arguments used against youth autonomy are ageist (and also objectively incorrect):

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-myth-of-the-teen-brain-2007-06/

-------------------------------------------------------- Why youth rights are necessary:

-------------------------------------------------------- What is unschooling?

-------------------------------------------------------- What is the Troubled Teens Industry (TTI)?

-------------------------------------------------------- Interview with John Holt and Richard Farson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i64OJ7w8B2c

-------------------------------------------------------- Books:

Escape From Childhood, by John Holt 

(https://libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=4DA27D84D32295C54B7206C0F5052A1B)

Teen 2.0, by Robert Epstein 

(https://www.amazon.com/Teen-2-0-Children-Families-Adolescence-ebook/dp/B0079M8OX2/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=teen+2.0&qid=1629080521&s=books&sr=1-2)

The Rights of Children, edited by Bob Franklin 1986 

(https://www.amazon.com/Rights-Children-Bob-Franklin/dp/063114711X/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=the+rights+of+children+bob+franklin&qid=1629080585&s=books&sr=1-4)

Free To Learn, by Peter Gray

(https://libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=3E3D775243999FF740E62EBBFDA6511C)

An Empirical Introduction to Youth, by Joseph Bronski

(https://1lib.us/book/15486529/5a4474)

* This list is subjected to changes which would result in me deleting and re-uploading the entire post as newer data comes my way.* 

I apologise in advance that a lot of the books I passed are not exactly available digitally at the moment, and some of the books for sale are also quite pricey at this time. 

That said, I hope this serves well to everyone looking to get involved seriously in youth liberation as the very important cause that it is!

[immortalvipers]

who exactly are you guys, if i may ask?

kids, speaking up for yourselves and kids everywhere? or adults?

did you make this blog and start speaking about child abuse for an actual goal? or just to spread awareness?

are you guys part of anything bigger in support of children and youth rights? do you want to be?

We are a tiny group of Gen Z kids who have suffered or are currently suffering from domestic abuse that will not or has not been handled competently by the proper authorities. Having noticed a pattern of ageist, institutionalized abuse, we started a blog to call out and hopefully assist in breaking the stigma in the future. Currently we are not anything more than a blog, but we are working towards making a website along with many others that spread awareness. Yes, we do want to spark something bigger. That will likely take a long while though, as we are caught up in our life issues and studies. Thank you for asking! It is much appreciated.

[youth-rights]

i’ve just seen your blog, so, if i may ask, who exactly are you?

a kid speaking up for yourself and kids everywhere? or an adult?

do you have any other goals you're working towards with this blog other than the one you mention in your pinned?

are you part of anything bigger? do you want to be? 👀

I was a kid when I started this blog. I'm an adult now. Unfortunately, I have a large number of responsibilities that prevent me from keeping up with this blog as much as I'd like. I never expected it to get the amount of attention it has, but I'm glad it's resonated with so many people.

My main goal with this blog is raising consciousness of the importance of youth liberation from all forms of ageist oppression. I would like very much to be part of a larger movement!

Hope this answers your questions.

[allisonzhang]

The phrase I attached to my piece was “Best?” because it juxtaposes the advertisement to buy the moisturizer. The initial purpose of advertising skincare was the concept that skin must be smooth, scar-free, and essentially flawless to be considered beautiful and “the best”. Society’s perception of a woman’s beautiful skin is her youth and flawless appearance towards others, a standard that is unkind to those who suffer from acne and considerably ageist. The way in which society expects a woman’s skin to be flawless is representative of the many unfair beauty standards that the world places on them. In this case, skin can bear scars and wrinkles and still be beautiful.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Media Coalition Representing Brazil’s Peripheral, Favela, Quilombola, and Indigenous Communities Use Ancestral Technology to Democratize Communication Rights

The Peripheral, Favela, Quilombola, and Indigenous Media Coalition brings together a network of journalism initiatives as ancestral technology to end the silences in the media market and change the future of journalism in Brazil with Black, favela, indigenous, peripheral, and quilombola voices, chanting “from within to within,” highlighting location, race, ethnicity, gender, and class.

“We are the Peripheral, Favela, Quilombola, and Indigenous Media Coalition. A set of journalistic and ancestral technological solutions to produce and share information of public interest in social contexts in which Internet access is precarious or non-existent… We work towards a media that is anti-sexist, anti-racist, anti-ableist, anti-LGBTQIA+phobia, and anti-ageist.” — Coalition launch manifesto, May 2023

The initiative is concerned with knowledge-producing technologies in service of the collective work of peoples, territories, and ancestral wisdom in favelas, urban peripheries, villages, and quilombos. The Coalition has been developed by 11 organizations: Periphery in Movement (SP), Desenrola e Não Me Enrola (SP), Third Street Margin (SP), Maré Mobilization Front (RJ), Fala Roça (RJ), Turmoil Network (PE), Mojubá Media and Connections (BA), TV Comunidades (MA), Quilombo TV (MA), Tapajônico Youth Collective (PA), and the Media Collective for the National Coordination for the Articulation of Rural Black Quilombo Communities (CONAQ). Officially launched during the Digital Journalism Association’s (Ajor) 3i Journalism Festival, the Coalition wants to reinvent journalism in Brazil, starting from the grassroots, rooted in what is happening on the ground.

Continue reading.

[hellshee]

that anon is totally off lol I mean there are unhinged people from every section but people who enjoy alysmond like their potential and what they could be and are constantly getting private quote tweeted on twitter for no reason. most of them literally stay in their lane and tons of people who want helaemond are annoyed that alys is a character who is his canon love interest. there’s literally nothing that ties daemyra and them together 💀 she didn’t know him as a kid and there’s also a big likelihood they’ll be casting a younger actress since her age is debated due to the youthfulness she had (which is why people speculated she practiced witchcraft).

disagree. i am on hotd twitter and have been bullied by alysm*nds for no reason. a lot of people in hotd fandom who didn't even read the books didn't know who she was until alysm*nds started making some lame tweets about how "those people's ship will crumble when alys comes on". they're the most antagonistic part of green twt and the green fandom in general so i will have to disagree.

and there is. huge age difference (it's very funny to me that from what i witnessed the alys takes went from "yess give me 40 year old sexy milf" to "i'm sure they'll cast someone young, the maesters were misogynstic"), there is reason to interpret their book relationship as non con to a degree (towards alys), alys stans use the "you're a misogynst if you don't like this character" just as rhaenyra stans do, and not that i disagree but throwing around "aemond is 19 when they meet" sounds exactly like da*myra discourse.

i'm sorry but when it comes to this, the discourse is unhinged. funniest but also most disgusting insult i got was from an alys stan tweeting to their mutual saying i'm being a misogynst ageist towards alys and in the same breath calling me a 30 year old hag who should get a job.

i've been called a number of names and for a while i really did try to scroll past the "not these freaks not shipping aemond with his wife tweets" and "see y'all freaks when alys comes on and your ship crumbles" and "can helaena manic pixie girl dies faster so they stop projecting on her" tweets but i'm also really tired of letting this bs fly.

not to mention the amount of greenies who use "you're secretly team black" and "you're just a da*myra stan undercover" on people who enjoy helaemond.

so no, i do not think they are the victims and i do think they started the discourse around it and until they're not gonna keep each other in check about taunting everyone else, the discourse will never end.

not interested to discuss this further tho! so if you disagree we will have to agree to disagree!

[icanseethefuture333]

honestly the whole "aging badly" or "aging well" is extremely negative, ageist and stupid. Why do people use ageing or looking old as an insult or looking young as a compliment? There is nothing wrong with looking older or aging badly, that is just part of life. If you do this, you're just complying to the toxic youthfulness mindness that society and promoting extremely harmful beauty standards.

Second, it is also extremely weird to associate something extremely normal like ageing with race. Even if they are complimenting black people for saying they age like fine wine, it is still very weird because race is not a biological thing, it's purely a social construct based on discrimination and physical traits like, for example, skin color. Therefore associating biological traits like ageing, speed, agility, etc. falls under scientific racism, which is an outdated and disproven racial theory. That type of discourse harms everyone of every race, so please people be careful with spreading it.

!!! Tea!

I don't get what was the point of that anon making that comment because it was extremely rude and unnecessary. I know some people don't like Jack Harlow and that's fine, but to say he looks like he's in his 30s when he's literally 25 is ridiculous 💀. Thats just basically saying he looks young still because 30 is not old. Plus I honestly think it's just the facial hair that makes him look more mature, if Jungkook had a beard I'm sure other people would be saying he looks like he's in 30s as well. Jungkook is just a year older than him and If that's the case are they saying Jungkook is old too 🤷🏽‍♀️? 26 is pretty damn near 30. I don't get why people think once you're no longer in your 20s then all of a sudden that makes you old. Or that makes you automatically unattractive somehow because you're getting older. Not only is it a unhealthy beauty standard or stupid way of thinking, it's a beauty standard rooted in pedophilia. You can't have wrinkles, you can't have body hair (if you're a woman), your tits or balls can't sag, you can't have gray hairs, etc. What does society want a person to look like then??? Exactly, a child.

I agree and disagree with the 2nd part of what you're saying anon. Even though race is a social construct, it's something that's too embedded in our society to be like "oh but there's only one race, there's the human race" because then that's invalidating and dismissive towards poc's experiences. Its easy to say that especially if you're a white person where you are in a system that is built solely with the purpose to only give them privileges and goes against everybody else. I feel like most compliments towards people over 30 are back handed "oh you look good for your age" or whatever when it's like why can't you just give a normal compliment? Say they have nice hair, eyes, or smile, people always make it so weird. I noticed when poc also age significantly faster due to health conditions then they face a lot of negative comments about their appearance (Chadwick Boseman for example before he died was being criticized and made fun of by so many people, they didn't even care to think about what he was going through). So that as well can be harmful to our community.

Idk maybe that other anon was a teenager and was just talking out of their ass.

[soniksaint]

Ageism in the Music Industry: An Ongoing Issue

Ageism, or discrimination based on age, is a pervasive issue in many industries, including the music industry. Despite the fact that music is often associated with timeless expression and creativity, many artists and performers face ageism and are often unfairly marginalized or excluded from opportunities due to their age.

The music industry is often focused on youth and novelty, with record labels and producers often seeking out younger artists who they believe will be more marketable and appealing to younger audiences. This can result in older musicians being overlooked or dismissed, regardless of their talent or experience.

This ageism is particularly evident for women in the music industry, who are often subject to harsher scrutiny and criticism as they age. Many women report feeling pressure to maintain a youthful appearance and are often subjected to ageist comments and stereotypes that can negatively impact their career prospects.

Furthermore, ageism in the music industry can also impact fans and audiences. Older fans may feel excluded or overlookedgg by the industry, with concerts and performances often geared towards younger demographics. This can create a sense of alienation and disconnection for older fans, who may feel that their contributions to the music industry are not valued or recognized.

Despite these challenges, many older musicians and performers continue to make significant contributions to the music industry. For example, legendary artists such as Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, and Stevie Nicks continue to tour and create new music, despite being well into their 70s.

To combat ageism in the music industry, there needs to be a shift in attitudes towards aging and a recognition of the value and contributions of older artists. This can include creating more opportunities for older musicians and performers, as well as challenging ageist stereotypes and assumptions about what it means to be a successful artist.

Ultimately, the music industry should strive to be more inclusive and diverse, recognizing the talents and contributions of artists of all ages and backgrounds. By doing so, the industry can continue to evolve and thrive, creating a more vibrant and dynamic musical landscape for everyone to enjoy.

[chillaxconsciousness]

are old people like #cancelled from cyberspaces?

ageism in the era of digital platforms

written by naomi ✿✿✿

When speaking of media ideologies and perspectives and analysing them through our own unilateral opinions, we often neglect certain biases that occur through digital platforms. The construct of media has evolved over the decades, and social media as we know it could never be  stagnant. With that, the world has overlooked certain normalized deviances that affect the way all people socially ingest media. Yet, it seems that there is no advert concern with the generational learning gaps of technology and age-related stereotypes towards its usage. In “A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace” written by John Perry Barlow highlights “the new home of mind”, which is identified as cyberspace. This new outlook on cyberspace and technology refuses to be held under governmental regularities and refuses all holistic approaches of control and enforcement. It renders itself as a quest to investigate the relationship between the discrepancies of age and technology at the hands of an ever changing cyberspace. 

Perfecting digital technology has become a vital pillar for what it means to be a fully fledged member of society. I mean I vividly remember re-taking Snapchat selfies with my grandmother because she had to “make sure her WhatsApp story was on point”. Yet, I lack much familiarity with Facebook so I couldn't help her out with the new update they’ve launched. This specific encounter intrigued my interest on whether my grandmother, and possibly other elderly people struggle with their daily usage of technology. Are new updates and tweaks accessible and apprehendable to them? Are they able to buy the newest IPhone because they would know how to use it, and not because it’s the newest IPhone?

It seems as though older people are not considered in the algorithms on digital platforms. Every technological advancement aims to be faster, smarter and desired, ultimately making it more feasible but less adaptable. There are algorithms put into play that hinder older people’s accessibility to the internet and technology because they are tethered towards the youth. Ageist paradigms like these affect the digital intelligence of a group that under the Independence of Cyberspace, should be included, heard, and recognized. But the advancements made toward technology don't seem to reflect that, which is really an #EpicFail㋡

Negative preconceptions and fixed beliefs about older individuals have caused them to be undervalued, ignored, and left out of the grander scheme of digital platforms. These perceptions are shaped by the values and approaches used in the design process, a process that rejects a diverse, accessible and just cyberspace.  As a result, digital platforms may unintentionally or intentionally perpetuate this form of bias by failing to consider the preferences, and circumstances and normalities that older people encounter in their daily lives through the process of aging. Barlow emphasizes in his impenitent soliloquy ( pretty much a rant) that cyberspaces should not and cannot leave anyone out of the retrospective space of media that they are creating, as they seek a world that “may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race, economic power, military force, or station of birth” (Barlow). I resonate with his passion toward the diversity and inclusion of cyberspace and its fascinations, making readers like myself question the freedom that individuals have within technology and cyber spaces. 

 Cyberspace Independence speaks of this global conveyance that relates the human mind and its creations being reproduced and distributed at no cost (Butler). If we view the consumption of technology this way, we could account for the transparent chasm between the younger generation and the older generation, where the barriers of technological engagement are defined by the period in which you entered the earth. The circumstances of technology do not make the future of digital life promising and makes me wonder whether the world will see a vast shift in the demographic of digital users. There are certain steps we can take towards addressing the barriers for internet use among the elderly and what can be done to address and change these conflicts. 

Technology always seems to be concerned with the future, but not so much who takes part in it. What does the future look like for older people when they feel uncomfortable using something that dominates their world? Who has the right and the power to change this narrative for them? Investing in infrastructure that allows elderly people to overcome the barriers they have surrounding internet could be a crucial start. In the wise words of Butler, “... no one can arrest our thoughts”.

lol... toodles for now! ✿✿✿

[littlemissidontcare]

I don’t think anon meant to be ageist because I see the point somehow. It’s definitely a petty ageist remark, but it is mainly older fans who keep jabbing at Alba looking 8 or 12, as if 25 isn’t being a full grown adult. Why keep pointing out she “looks 12” if you’re not somewhat pressed towards her youthful appearance? Being called too young incites not being taken seriously, which on the pettiness scale is towards ageist remakes like what the other anon made. Idk if I’m making sense. Feel free to shut me down, mod, that’s just my observations.

That’s how I took it, but I know some people think it’s ageist so let’s just be careful of how we put things

[fogsupwindshieldglass]

you can tell a lot of newer fans are a lot younger than the boys’ ages cos they feel the need for them to live out their entire lives on social media just like they do

[sumukhcomedy]

Our Next President Will Be Really F***ing Old

In the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, 70-year-old Donald Trump defeated 69-year-old Hillary Clinton. The subsequent reactions to this result and the nature of the country since then don’t need to be discussed. They play out every day.

But, in the wake of it all, Democrats were preparing themselves for 2020. They knew they needed to line up a candidate to defeat Donald Trump and most have posed that as a top reason to vote for them as the primaries play out.

What we’ve also seen since the 2016 election is plenty of debate over generational issues: Baby Boomers blaming Millennials, Millennials blaming Baby Boomers, Generation Xers apparently just hanging out, Generation Zers just looking at their technology, me wondering what the next generation will be called since we’ve run out of letters. But what’s clear is we do have a spirited youth that are intelligent, politically and socially active, and whose votes and voices will matter.

Yet, here is where we stand: the Republican Party has aligned itself with the now 73-year-old Trump’s protocol even after desperately wanting to push him out of their primary years earlier. The Democratic field’s top candidates by polls currently are Joe Biden (77 years old), Bernie Sanders (78 years old; will be 79 on date of 2020 presidential election), and Elizabeth Warren (70 years old; will be 71 on date of 2020 presidential election). Mike Bloomberg (77 years old; will be 78 in a few weeks) has enough money to put himself in this field as well.

What is going on here? I’m not writing this with any political leanings one way or the other, but more from just a general societal perspective.

If you walked into any company and asked employees what they thought of any co-worker over the age of 70, I guarantee that a majority of those polled would say, “Why are they still working here?” And, yet, these are all the most viable candidates that both parties have fielded for President of the United States?

I’m sure I could be called out as ageist, but that isn’t entirely the point. It’s fine to field candidates that are senior citizens, but the notion that all the top ones are and that the parties chose to structure themselves in this way speaks to the fundamental problem and alienation that the younger generations felt after the 2016 election. They’ve become more vocal and more political and yet both parties don’t seem to be truly addressing it or caring about it.

                                            The future of America

Trump is already pretty majorly disconnected to the youth unless they happen to be conservative and then he’s unfortunately molding them into a really distorted view on Republican ideals or even faith. Biden has already shown signs of both age and an inability to relate to the current times whether it be with his viewpoints on marijuana or his touchiness with women. Warren and Sanders seem to have the most youth-backing and yet they are now locking heads for votes. It seems absolutely absurd that the voice that seems to be able to relate to the issues of the younger generation the most is coming from the oldest person in the field.

Trump loves junk food so much that he fed it to the college football championship winning Clemson team. His Twitter account doesn’t even need to be mentioned at this point as a sign of a concern. Sanders suffered a heart attack in October. Biden’s mental capacity in debates keeps coming under fire. We’ve seen from George W. Bush and Barack Obama how much a President can age in 8 years in office. There’s nothing wrong as a voter holding a concern for how old the leader of their nation will be and their health and yet this doesn’t seem to truly to matter to anyone right now.

One would think that the outlook of either party with a candidate isn’t just winning for 4 years but winning for 8. I don’t know that Trump could make it that far. I certainly don’t know that I feel that way about a mid-80s Biden or Sanders. So, it makes the vice president position all that more important and we’ve watched in the past how the frightening notion of Sarah Palin as president may have buried a campaign.

I’m not one to rally around and promote candidates or even my political preferences, but at a general level, it would seem that only focusing in on one age group and the most aged of them all for the highest office in the country doesn’t do a great job of speaking to the entire country. We have a minimum age limit of 35 which is good because that means an Instagram influencer won’t become our President which would be likely to happen. But it’s safe to question why we don’t have a maximum age and why our major political parties are slanting towards unbelievably older candidates.

They may be clinging to their final ways of shaping their worldview and, in the process, only further alienating a large youth population that is ready to take over.